Tropical Storm Fred develops just south of Puerto Rico bringing heavy rains and gusty winds

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Fred is swirling just south of Puerto Rico heading for the Dominican Republic and Haiti, with forecasters warning that its heavy rains could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides. After a quiet month of no named storms in the region, Fred became the sixth of the Atlantic hurricane season as expected late Tuesday. Tropical storm warnings were already in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Rains are already pelting the northern Caribbean and power outages have been reported in Puerto Rico. The Dominican Republic, Haiti and the southern Bahamas could get hit Wednesday, and people in Florida are being urged to monitor updates, though forecasters say it remains uncertain where the storm will move later in the week.